TAUNTON — City Councilor Donald Cleary doesn’t think Tuesday night’s nearly three-hour discussion of a $2.7 million appropriation to pay for new high school bleachers, bathrooms and press box was an exercise in futility.

“I think we succeeded in getting the process in motion,” Cleary said on Wednesday.

The council’s marathon meeting Tuesday night brought together members of the school committee and representatives of architectural firm Design Partnership of Cambridge.

The intent was to discuss a $3.2 million proposal by Design Partnership to replace Taunton High School’s nearly 40-year-old bleachers, press box and athletic field bathroom facilities.

The school committee already has committed to utilize $500,000 from its revolving, school-choice fund to help pay for the project.

A decision whether to adopt or reject the $3.2 million plan was delayed after councilor Jeanne Quinn said she would need more detailed information before making up her mind.

She also said it didn’t serve a useful purpose to continue pointing out previous mistakes that led to the need to fund the bleacher project.

“We can go on and on rehashing old history, but we can’t go back,” Quinn said. “But how can we rule on this without real numbers?”

Council President A.J. Marshall backed Quinn, saying that he likewise needed more precise figures.

“We need to do this as appropriately and cheaply as possible and with no fluff,” said Marshall, who stressed that the THS field should represent “a sense of pride” as “a reflection of our community.”

Design Partnership Principal Daniel Colli said he would provide those cost details within a week to both the council and school committee.

The formal plan presented by Colli would reduce total bleacher seating capacity from 2,879 to 2,020.

The new bleachers would again be built of galvanized steel and aluminum, but would emphasize safety by featuring a 42-inch guardrail, handrails in aisles, footboards that are filled in to prevent falls and special handicap-accessible seating for people in wheelchairs.

In the past year, two children were injured when they fell through the old bleachers.

The press box would include a full-service elevator, as opposed to a “limited use” version, and would be placed within the upper portion of the bleachers.

Councilor Gerald Croteau was highly critical of Design Partnership for what he said is an exorbitant 12 percent rate of $285,000 for its design expertise. Croteau said the firm’s “going rate” in 2010, during the high school’s construction upgrade,s was only five percent.

Councilor Deborah Carr asked why the bleachers can’t be constructed of less expensive, durable plastic. Colli, however, said bleachers need to be made of steel, aluminum or a combination thereof.

Page 2 of 2 - Carr also stressed that the city needs to be frugal at this juncture with the spectre of repairing City Hall downtown looming large. That building has been closed since a 2010 arson fire. Previous estimates to renovate City Hall have ranged from $15 million to $23 million.

“City Hall sits in a pile of rubble and the (renovation) plan is about to run out,” Carr said.

Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. said he was confident maintenance workers at the high school, which sits next to Parker Middle School, would provide adequate oversight of the new bleachers.

Councilor Sherry Costa Hanlon asked for a cost analysis dating back to 2010 including all soft costs, which consist of unforeseen changes in construction.

It came to light in 2009 that the cost of installing the bleachers, bathrooms and new press box —as first thought when the project was initially proposed — would not be covered by the $112-plus-million it cost to build the middle school and renovate the high school.

A debt exclusion approved by voters covered 17 percent of the first $104 million; the state paid 83 percent of the total $112 million.

Taunton Building Commissioner Wayne Walkden said a previously extended temporary occupancy permit for the field has since expired. A permanent permit, he said, will depend on removing the existing bleachers.

The plan offered by Design Partnership also calls for visiting fans to use bathrooms at the adjacent Elizabeth Pole Elementary School, in order to meet Americans with Disabilities rules requiring easy access to bathrooms.

School Committee member Jordan Fiore reiterated that issue should not be a problem, since the Pole School parking lot has been used by football fans partaking of tailgating activities in the past.

School Superintendent Julie Hackett, in a statement, praised the City Council and mayor for their “sincerity” and “thoughtful questions.”

“There was a feeling of unity and camaraderie that makes me proud to work in Taunton,” Hackett wrote.